By Morf Morford, Tacoma Daily Index
In 2012, the Chinese Communist Party’s constitution outlined two major goals; by 2021, the Chinese government aims ‘to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects’ with an emphasis on targeted poverty reduction and alleviation measures.
By 2049, the Chinese government aims to ‘build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious’.
Those might seem like vague goals, but consider this, Xi Jinping expects China to usher in a new era with stated ambitions to become a nation with ‘pioneering global influence’ by 2050.
If you follow international economics at all, you know one thing for certain; China is the ultimate rising economy.
China’s economy and culture has more than its share of headwinds, crosscurrents and internal contradictions.
Just a few of the questions China must explicitly address are; Does China have the talent and the right policy and institutional mix to make the transition from an input-driven to innovation-driven economy? What does an aging population mean for the country in terms of labor supply, consumption demand, and social welfare expenditures? Can China contain environmental and climate change changes and challenges?
And, when it comes to money, currency and finances, can China distance itself from Western Capitalism and, in essence, make its own economic system, created largely in its own image.
2049 is the 100th anniversary of the Communist revolution and symbolically, if not practically, how China grows in the next several years will have a large impact not just on China’s development, but also on stability and prosperity for the rest of us across the whole world’s economy.
In the military category
China already has the world’s largest navy with about 355 ships and submarines, but the country has been dramatically increasing its armed forces to fulfill President Xi Jinping’s vow to transform the People’s Liberation Army into a “world class” military by 2049, according to a report from the US Defense Department.
In short, China is merging foreign policy, economic power, defense and military strategies, and government and political systems into one master plan.
Not your grandfather’s military
Among other things, China’s goal is to develop capacity to carry out long-range precision strikes and, in the 2020s, a global military force is far more than troops (the People’s Liberation Army has 975,000 active duty personnel in combat units). China is also prioritizing a range of land, air, and maritime operations as well as space, counterspace, electronic warfare, and cyber operations.
The primary thing to keep in mind when it comes to China’s aspirations, is that US technology is China’s beginning reference point.
Whether in military or business, the USA, for better or worse, in every category, is where China begins, where China sets its goalposts for the upcoming marketplace of finance, influence and power.
Flying cars
We’ve seen them in movies, and have been promised them for decades, but China has a working flying car.
It was developed and manufactured by the Chinese automaker’s subsidiary called XPeng Aeroht, which describes itself as the largest flying car company in Asia.
The XPeng X2 is a two-seater flying car designed for future low-altitude city flights, especially short-distance journeys such as sightseeing and medical transportation.
These cars are all-electric and could actually be greener than old-fashioned electric or combustion engine “road cars”.
Every new invention seems to require an acronym, so be prepared for FEVs (Flying Electric Vehicles).
Since weight is an issue, FEVs are passenger only. Don’t expect a flying pick-up truck anytime soon.
The XPeng X2 had its public debut in Dubai in October.
The model used for the demo is only capable of flying, not driving. Future models will offer manual and automatic flight driving modes, and will be able to drive in the air and on roads.
Editor’s note: For USA manufactured flying cars, you might start here: http://flyingcars.us/.
2049 might be the 100th anniversary of the Communist revolution in China, but the identity and character of China has existed for millennia.
China was a world superpower centuries before the world knew the term. And for far more centuries, and across more miles than any other empire in human history.
China invented paper (and paper currency) and printing and gun powder and civil service tests, and a thousand other things, from the compass to kites and umbrellas, centuries before Europe.
Most of us in North America might think of China as a source of cheap labor and discount-priced goods, and that has been true for the past fifty years or so, but China, like Japan, will soon become a benchmark, if not leader, in business, technology and commerce.
Deep in the psyche of China is the sense that the 21st Century is the time when China regains what it considers its rightful place – as the world’s middle (as in most central) kingdom.
